


Debutante

by LeagueOfPotatoes



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Banter, Connor is a rogue, F/M, Flirting, Gift Exchange, Josh can't dance, Tina gets the cake, suspended belief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:28:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22514026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeagueOfPotatoes/pseuds/LeagueOfPotatoes
Summary: Prompt: Tina/Connor - Historical AU-In which Tina Chen just wants to eat some cake, and Connor Anderson left his manners at home.
Relationships: Tina Chen/Connor
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Debutante

**Author's Note:**

> This was written in response to a Gift Bang/Secret Santa exchange hosted by the Discord server, "the rarest of dbh pairs". My giftee was Abbey, and of her three prompts, I immediately found myself drawn to Tina/Connor. 
> 
> My sister also challenged me to use the word "stupendous" somewhere in the fic - and who am I to ignore a challenge?
> 
> I hope you enjoy.

If Tina was never asked to dance again, it would be too soon.   
  
It was perfectly understandable that she’d been living on the dance floor, of course - it _was_ her debutante ball, and her mother had been rather overzealous in her invitations. She was seemingly quite anxious to marry Tina off. It probably didn’t help that her daughter had only been deemed ‘mature’ at eighteen, far later than some of her peers.   
  
This in turn meant that any time she so much as _looked_ at the pastry table, another new suitor sidestepped into her field of vision. She must have danced with half of the young men at the party already, and still, more were arriving.   
  
“Earl Carl Manfred and his sons, Lord Leopold and The Honourable Markus.”   
  
“Baron Benjamin Collins.”  
  
“Duke Henry Anderson and his ward, Lord Connor...”  
  
Every time the announcer called out a new name, Tina could feel her heart sinking further. Surely there weren’t still guests arriving? They’d passed the point of ‘fashionably late’ and had moved on to ‘impolite’. At this rate, she’d wear right through the soles of her shoes by the end of the night.  
  
“Christina?”   
  
The sound of her current partner’s voice snapped her out of her self-pity. The song had ended, dancers were drifting off to their tables, and there she was, completely zoned out. She recovered quickly, smiling benignly at the man - Joshua, was it? Names were never her strong suit. “I’m sorry, what was that?”   
  
To his credit, Joshua just smiled politely, breezing over her distraction. “I was thanking you for the dance. I do tend to worry about stepping on my partner’s toes, but luckily we didn’t have that problem.”   
  
So _that’s_ why he’d been so focused on their feet. What a relief.  
  
“You do yourself a disservice. I think your dancing was lovely.” At this point, she was just making polite conversation. Joshua did seem like a nice man, but the bite-sized, decorated cakes seemed nicer. Men could wait; food was her highest priority at this point.   
  
Josh bowed his head. “Thank you, my lady. Perhaps we can share another dance later. For now though, I won’t take up more of your time than is proper.”   
  
And with that, Tina was free. She glanced around, making sure her path was clear, and hurried over to the dessert table as quickly as she could without drawing attention to herself.   
  
Her mother really _had_ gone all out on the catering. Tiered platters filled the table, covered in tartlets, cakes and other pastries that she would’ve happily stuffed into her mouth - had she been alone. For now, though, small tastes would do, starting with the tray of strawberry mini-cakes she’d been eyeing the whole evening. She swallowed in anticipation, mentally deciding which one to pick first, when--   
  
“Excuse me, are you the lady of the hour?”   
  
This time, Tina couldn’t stop herself from groaning out loud. She had been so close. She turned around, already frowning. “Who’s asking?”   
  
The man in front of her blinked in surprise at her reaction, but seemed to recover almost immediately, giving her a skew smile. It was a little untidy, much like the rest of his appearance - a stray curl of hair swept across his forehead, his shoes weren’t polished, and he wasn’t even wearing a tie. Did he have no sense of reputation? “Forgive me for interrupting. I wanted to come and introduce myself.” He held out a hand. “Connor Anderson.”  
  
As much as she didn’t feel like engaging in what she felt would be another pointless conversation full of small talk, Tina knew she couldn’t brush off a guest. If her mother found out, she’d be livid. “Christina Chen. Please, call me Tina.” She took his hand, but before she could shake it, he’d ducked down to press a kiss against her knuckles.   
  
That same skew smile graced his features as he rose. Amusement flickered in his eyes at the fact that Tina was clearly dumbfounded by his actions. “May I have a dance, Lady Tina?”  
  
The question cured her indignation. “If you wanted a dance,” she said, using her haughtiest tone, “then you should have requested one sooner. My dance card is full.”   
  
Clearly he’d been expecting a different answer. Seeing him falter send a wave of triumph through her.   
  
“In fact, I do believe I should prepare for my next dance. Good evening to you, _Lord_ Connor.” She gripped the ruffles on either side of her skirt (all the better to prevent herself from tripping and thus ruining her dramatic exit) and marched off.   
  
She would’ve given up all the cakes on the table in exchange for one look at the disbelief on his face.  
  
\---  
  
Adam. Luther. Simon. She ticked the list off quickly. The boys were nice enough, and yet she still hadn’t found one who’d truly sparked her interest.   
  
That is, until Daniel.   
  
He was tall and blonde and - Tina was unafraid to admit - handsome. He’d looked as bored as she’d felt when she’d approached him, and he didn’t try to cover it up by being _overzealously interested_ once they found themselves dancing.   
  
“I hope you don’t take offence when I say that that balls aren’t my forte. I’d much prefer being at home with my sister,” he said without a trace of shame. He raised his arm and neatly twirled her against his chest.   
  
Tina let out the first true laugh of the evening. “I hope _you_ don’t take offence when I say that I’d much rather be doing _anything_ other than dancing. Tell no one.” She stepped forward and turned, twirling herself away from him again. “If my mother so much as _thought_ I was disgracing myself like that, I’d be disowned faster than I could curtsy.”   
  
As if on cue, one of the serving maids her mother had hired for the evening materialised next to the pair. Her eyebrows were knitted together apologetically. Daniel slowed down their steps, and the girl quickly curtsied. “Apologies, my lord. Duchess Chen requires her daughter’s presence in the parlour.”   
  
Tina shot Daniel a look of fear. “That can’t be good.”   
  
Daniel simply chuckled, waving a dismissive hand. “I’m sure it’s nothing awful. Go and see her. If you survive the conversation, we can continue our dance afterwards.”   
  
No way out of the talk, then. “Thank you, Daniel. Wish me luck.” She brushed down her skirt, fixed her posture and followed the girl to the metaphorical spider’s den.   
  
Except, once they arrived, it wasn’t Tina’s mother in the room at all.   
  
“Ah, thank you, Chloe.” Connor’s skew smile had once again found its way onto his face. He was lounging in one of the armchairs near the window. Once the girls entered, he stood. “That will be all.”   
  
Tina frowned. “Resorting to trickery, are we? Not very lordly behaviour.”  
  
“I think you’ll find I enjoy subverting expectations. Please, come sit.”   
  
Tina didn’t budge. Only her eyebrow rose, expecting some sort of explanation.   
  
Connor’s smile faded, switching to something more earnest. “Alright, I can see you’re unamused. The truth is… my guardian and I were only invited as a formality. He’s a disgraced member of the local law enforcement, which meant that there was no way I was going to be able to secure you for a dance. It didn’t seem like you were enjoying yourself very much anyway.”   
  
“A bold assumption.”   
  
“Was I wrong?”   
  
Tina’s silence was answer enough.   
  
“If it helps, I brought an apology for my roguish behaviour.” He turned, gesturing to the table next to the seat he’d vacated. The various trinkets it had held had been pushed to one side in favour of a plate piled high with pastries from the table. Gracing the top of the stack was a strawberry mini-cake.   
  
She pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. “... I’m listening.”   
  
“No more trickery,” he said quickly, as if worried she’d suddenly change her mind. “No dances, no expectations. Just conversation about something other than the weather, and all of the pastries your heart desires. Doesn’t that sound lovely?”  
  
Truth be told, it did - not that she’d give him the upper hand so quickly. “It sounds simply _stupendous_ .” Her feet were already carrying her towards the sweets. “You have one chance to peak my interest. Choose poorly, and I will walk out. Choose wisely…” It was time for _her_ to smile that sweet, skew smile. “And I may make an exception for you. Dance card be damned.”   
  
Connor chuckled, settling back in his seat. She hadn’t noticed before, but his face had the loveliest freckles. Should the conversation turn dry, she was certain she’d spend her time counting them instead. “I assure you, my lady, I have never made a poor decision in my life.”  
  
She sat down, not even bothering to maintain her poise. Her hand shot out and grabbed the strawberry cake. “We’ll see about that, my lord.” Without further ado, she bit into the treat. The cake itself was light and fresh - the perfect counter to the sweet strawberry icing.   
  
Good cake _and_ the promise of good conversation?  
  
The evening, it seemed, was finally looking up. 


End file.
